Hello P3 Families!

October has been an exciting month so far! The children are enjoying learning about mammals, vertebrates vs. invertebrates, pumpkins, anatomy, and the 7 continents. All of our hands on materials make it easy and fun. It keeps them engaged and gives them a thorough understanding of our units of study.

Learning about organ function and the names of our bones:

Characteristics and Parts of a Mammal:

Using puzzle maps to learn the 7 continents:

The Primary classes have also had the exciting opportunity to enjoy a performance by the African Drummers from Senegal. Not only did we enjoy a spectacular show, but they shared many fun facts about their culture. Did you know there are over 2,000 languages spoken within the 54 countries in Africa? Drumming was a way for them to communicate with each other, and it was so cool to see how their primitive drum sets made of wood and goat skin looked exactly like Travis Barker’s drum set today!

Here are your children hard at work!

Mastering 1-10 and teen numbers with the colored bead bars and counters:

Introducing odd and even:

Mastering her tens with the tens board:

Learning place value with the Golden Bead Materials:

Four-digit addition with the Stamp Game and Golden Beads:

Practicing reading and phonetic sounds:

Spooky Practical Life Fun!

This month we celebrated Gavin’s birthday! Thank you for celebrating with us!

The children are doing an EXCELLENT job with their lines for our play, “Mother Goose’s Character Camp”. If you have been practicing with them at home, thank you! We can’t wait until they perform for you. The children have been working so hard! So mark your calendars for Thursday, November 8th, 9:00 am. See your children shine like the stars they are!

It’s getting pretty chilly out, so please label all jackets, sweaters, vests, and all other outerwear with your child’s name and class. There are sharpies available in class if you need them. Unclaimed clothing will be taken to the office and placed in Lost and Found.

Important dates:

Friday, 10/19: PTO Fall Festival 5-8pm

Wednesday, 10/24: Celebrate America Day, Primary dismissal 11:15am

Thursday, 10/25: NO SCHOOL, Teacher In-Service Day

Friday, 10/26: NO SCHOOL, Nevada Day

Thursday, 11/8: P3 Music Performance 9:00am Multipurpose Room

Monday, 11/12: NO SCHOOL, Veteran’s Day

Tuesday, 11/13: NO SCHOOL, Teacher In-Service Day

Thursday, 11/15: Picture Re-take Day; Parent-Child Night: 4:15-5:00 last names A-M & 5:00-5:45 last names N-Z

Thank you!

Primary 3 Team

Dear P3 Families,

Thank you so much for attending conferences! It was great to touch base with everyone regarding the progress of your children, and we look forward to working together to ensure everyone has a successful year. For those that were unable to attend and have not yet scheduled a day to meet, please contact us as soon as possible.

The children have had so much fun learning about community helpers and food groups. Our Kindergarten students even had the opportunity to go to the fire station. We would like to thank our parent volunteers for your time and help to make the trip a success!

We would like to give a special shout out to Justin Isom, a P3 parent in the US armed forces. Thank you so much for reading and talking to the children about your job as a United States soldier! It tied in perfectly with our unit of study, and the children were fascinated! And of course, we thank you for your service!

Another massive thanks to Kaitlyn Tinsley who made tacos with the children and shared a very cute book called “Dragons Love Tacos.” We know your time is valuable and setting a few hours aside to be involved with the children is greatly appreciated!

Jin Kim also did a fun craft which students truly enjoyed. You have no idea how excited the children get when they know a parent is coming to volunteer! Again, thank you for all you do.

For our school wide staff meeting this month, the teachers had an opportunity to watch “Won’t You Be My Neighbor,” a documentary about Fred Rogers. If you love documentaries, we highly recommend this to be on your watch list (99% rating on Rotten Tomatoes!).  We had no idea how much thought went into each episode. The shows first aired in the 1960s, and he was a master and pioneer of addressing real life issues that adults tend to shield from their children. He helped children understand war, segregation, death, divorce, and even went back on the air after the 9/11 attach. He made it a point to listen and embrace questions, speak the truth, and ensure it is our jobs as adults to keep them safe. He is truly an inspiration, and we learned so much on how to improve communication with our children.

Your children are hard at work! Please continue to look out for future blogs, as your child may be featured!

Phonetic sound work:

Color matching with the Color Tablets:

Addition and Subtraction:

Practical Life to sharpen fine motor and concentration skills:

Apple Studies:

Congrats on completing the 100 Board independently!

We also had very special birthday circles this month. Thank you for celebrating with us  Sebastian, Maggie and Sarah!

Important Dates:

Tuesday, 10/2: Picture Day

Friday, 10/5: PTO Movie Night

Friday, 10/19: PTO Fall Festival 5-8pm

Wednesday, 10/24: Celebrate America Day, half day dismissal @ 11:15 AM

Thursday, 10/25: NO SCHOOL, Teacher In-Service

Friday, 10/26: NO SCHOOL, Nevada Day

October Studies:

Anatomy, Bones, and the 5 Senses

Vertebrates/Invertebrates

Mammal Studies

The World and 7 Continents

Parts of the Leaf

Pumpkin Studies

If you would like to volunteer to set up our classroom on Tuesday, October 23 for Celebrate America Day, please let any of the teachers know and we will provide you with details. The more hands, the better! P3 will be representing the Southeast region of the USA.

Sincerely,

Primary 3 Team

Dear Primary 3 Parents,

The first month of school has gone by in a blink of an eye! We have been having such a wonderful time getting to know each other. Friendships have been formed and the children are getting more familiar with everyday routines. Specials have begun, so we have been learning Spanish with Ms. Diana, Music with Ms. Melissa, Art with Ms. Angela, and the Kindergarten students have been keeping active in PE with Coach Bob. Our specialists have blogs as well, so please take the time to check them out to get more detail on what the children are learning.

Learning colors in Spanish with Ms. Diana:

In addition to working diligently on assessing children, pre-reading activities, letter sounds, writing, math, and reading, we have been learning about different types of weather and some children have even begun creating circle maps. This serves as a wonderful foundation for more complex thinking maps in the future.

Language work from pre-reading activities to reading and writing sentences:

Math including operations, counting, and review of the decimal system:

Living in Las Vegas, where we don’t experience drastic weather changes or conditions, the children were astounded about how extreme mother nature can get in different parts of the world where they experience blizzards, tornadoes, and hurricanes. Rest assured;  however, they know they are safe in our city where we only get HOT sunny days, wind, cold, and rain. They did love our lesson on tornadoes, with a machine that demonstrated categories F-0 to F-5.

We would also like to say THANK YOU to our parent volunteers, the Rice and St. John families, for reading and doing a cooking project with the class. Your gift of time is invaluable, and it is truly appreciated!

We have had a couple of birthdays with the traditional Montessori birthday circle. There have been many questions on how we celebrate this sweet occasion. If your child’s birthday is coming up, schedule a day with a teacher. Bring in a photo of your child for each year of his or her life, starting from birth to present. Some parents have mounted them on poster boards, shown them on i-pads, or simply brought hard copy photos to be passed around circle. You and your child can then talk about special milestones for each year, followed by your celebrant going around the “sun” as we sing a special song. There are 30 children in our class, so please provide a simple, healthy birthday snack for each child. Please contact a teacher in advance if choosing to bring a birthday treat, as food allergies need to be taken into consideration and products containing nuts are not allowed. If you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to let us know.

Important reminders:

-Please make sure toys and distracting jewelry/accessories stay home.

-Sign up sheets for conferences, volunteers, and snack are outside our door. If you have already volunteered to bring requested items, thank you very much!

-If you see a “key chain” with letters or a sound book that your child has colored in their red bag, please practice those sounds with them at home. Those are the phonetic sounds we worked on for the day.

-Instructions to get on “Remind” are posted on our door. Please utilize this app to receive important notifications. Text @7f2f9e to 81010 and follow the prompts.

-As you know, Montessori is very hands on and process driven. Not a lot of paper work goes home. Parent-Child night will be scheduled soon, and that night would be a wonderful opportunity to see how our materials work and what your child is working on. And as always, feel free to ask us anytime before then.

Important Dates:

Monday, 9/3: NO SCHOOL Labor Day. Enjoy!

Thursday, 9/20: Parent/Teacher Conferences, half day dismissal @ 11:15am

Friday, 9/21: Parent/Teacher Conferences, NO SCHOOL for students

Themes for September:

Safety and Community Helpers

Nutrition and Food Groups

Plant vs. Animal

Land and Water

Apple Studies

Sincerely,

Primary 3 Team

Dear Primary 3 Parents,

Welcome! Ms. Joanne, Ms. Alisa, and Ms. Kristen are so excited having all of you join us this school year. It has been a pleasure to meet new friends and such a joy to see familiar faces.

The first week of school was a success! The children are adjusting beautifully, making new friends, getting to know their teachers, and learning plenty of new work. We know there have been tears during drop off, and we understand that you might be concerned. However, please be assured they settle down into a routine quickly and go about their very busy day. We will call you if we cannot console your child, after utilizing all of our skills and TLC touch. We recommend quick goodbyes at the door with a teacher’s help if needed, and encourage your child to put away their things on their own to foster independence. We have been focusing on ground rules, classroom routines and procedures, making friends, reviewing work from the previous school year, and introducing new ones.

Language Arts:

Math:

Sensorial:

Cultural:

Practical Life:

Recess Fun:

Every month there will be sign-up sheets outside our classroom door for volunteers, weekly snacks, and practical life supplies. There is also a communication notebook for you to inform us of absences, appointments, etc. Please keep in mind that the notes are seen by other parents, so please make an appointment with us after school for confidential or sensitive discussions. Communication between parents and teachers is essential to ensure a successful year, so please note our contact information:

P3 classroom: [email protected]

Ms. Joanne: [email protected]

Ms. Alisa: [email protected]

Ms. Kristen: [email protected]

School phone: (702) 407-0790

If you have not provided your email address, please do so as soon as possible. We will also be utilizing “Remind,” an app for your smartphone where you will be able to receive text messages from the P3 team and pictures of your child at work each month. Details will follow shortly.

August Themes:

Classroom Community Building

Feelings and Emotions

Weather and Clouds

Seasons

Living vs. Non-Living

Garden Studies

Important Dates:

Thursday, 8/23: Primary Orientation @ 5pm, multi-purpose room

Monday, 9/3: NO SCHOOL (Labor Day)

Thursday, 9/20: Parent/Teacher Conferences (Primary pick up at 11:15)

Friday, 9/21: Parent/Teacher Conferences (No school for students)

Thank You!

Sincerely,

Primary 3

Dear P3 Families,

We would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you for a fantastic year! It was great seeing your children grow so much, and the memories created were absolutely priceless! Whether it’s laughing with them, wiping their tears, teaching them how to read and count, or helping them blow their noses, we will surely miss their cute smiley faces during summer break!

We appreciate all the support you’ve given us. Thank you for reading stories, cooking, doing projects, chaperoning field trips, providing snack, and sharing vacation travels. Your gift of time helped make this year extra special for sure!

Whether your children are attending camp at FMS or going on vacation, we wish you all a wonderful summer. We look forward to seeing our returning students next year, and send our love and well wishes to those moving on to other schools.

Important Reminders:

Wed, 5/23: Kindergarten Moving Up Ceremony 1:30-2:30pm

Fri, 5/25: Half Day Dismissal 11:15am

Thank you for making us part of your children’s lives this year!!

Love,

Primary 3

Ms. Joanne, Ms. Alisa, Ms. Pauline, and Ms. Lauren